If you haven’t already, make some time to find your sample ballot. If you live it Michigan, you can find it on the Secretary of State’s website. And, if you don’t, you can find it at either Vote Save America or Ballotpedia. [For what it’s worth, neither Vote Save America or Ballotpedia seem be list local races, so be aware of that. Vote Save America does, however, have a cool feature which allows you to choose who you want to vote for in each race, and then send yourself an email with all of your choices, so that you can have something to refer back to on Election Day. If you’re a first-time voter, you can also find the location of your polling place on any one of those sites.]

Here, for those of you who might happen to be local, is my ballot for the third ward of Ypsilanti. [It was so long that I had to cut it into several pieces, but hopefully you can still make your way through it without too much trouble.] So, let’s talk about it. I think I know how I’m going to vote on everything up until the judges, but I’d love to hear your thoughts if there are particular races and ballot initiatives you feel passionately about… or if there are write-in candidates that you want people to know about… or whatever. And do leave comments about the judges. I’d appreciate it.

Oh, and I found this breakdown of the three ballot initiatives from Ballotpedia to be useful, and though that I’d pass it along. [It’s also worth pointing out that the Vote Save America site tells you which people and groups support and oppose each ballot measure, which is where I just learned that Ted Nugent has come out against the legalization of marijuana in Michigan.]

And, if you’re a first-time voter, and have any questions, don’t be shy about asking. If I don’t have an answer for you, there’s a pretty good chance that I can find someone who does.

How about the library board? I feel completely uninformed so might skip it if I don’t have time to look into it. Also skeptical that anything I could read on the candidates would actually differentiate them. So personal recommendations are appreciated.

Honestly, my vote for YCS board is just to vote for the people I’ve heard of before. Any sleepers or people I haven’t heard of that I should look into beforehand though? I’m a pro-development neoliberal(don’t mind charters, think that the district should embrace competition for students, etc). Anyone in that camp?

I want to ask this delicately, but has anyone heard reasons why someone might not support DaQuann W. Harrison for the school board? I was told something once, but I don’t know how much weight to give it.

I voted already (absentee), and judges were the very hardest to decide! I Googled each one, and then worked through the results. I found the candidates’ websites useful because they often listed endorsements, and from that I got a good idea about what candidates best matched my own beliefs and leanings. Then, after I narrowed my choices, I looked at their Twitter feeds and other social media to see what each candidate posted, and this helped solidify my choices. I am not revealing my votes or leanings here; just hoping to give suggestions that others can use to help navigate this MOST IMPORTANT task. Thank you, Mark, for such a marvelous and endlessly fascinating forum.

It’s unrelated to the election here in Michigan but since you mentioned it, Andrew Gillum responded to Trump’s lie about him being a thief.

Andrew Gillum: I heard @realDonaldTrump ran home to @FoxNews to lie about me. But as my grandmother told me — never wrestle with a pig. You both get dirty, but the pig likes it. So ignore him and vote, Florida!

@Kim
DQH’s problem is that he’s 19. Might be bright, but would you hire him for a position where he is a manager and policy maker? That’s basically what the job is. On what basis would he review someone’s performance? I prefer parents who have taken kids through (or currently in) school, because they are thinking long term about education for their children in a way that a child never can. Hopefully they have some management experience as well by the time they run.

K, figured out the library. I’ll do everyone but Kangas, he’s just running as a platform for some other office at some point (he’s a lawyer and his hair is perfect)(campaign statements are anecdote about family, worked hard, now i know i can help others where I was). Maybe the local party doesn’t like him enough to support him in another race?

Sam Bagenstos and Megan Cavanagh are the two Michigan Supreme Court candidates who have been endorsed by the Democratic Party. They are running to unseat GOP endorsed incumbents, so they’re dramatic underdogs.

Sam Bagenstos and Megan Cavanagh for Supreme Court. The incumbents are Snyder appointees. If Bagenstos and Cavanagh are elected, it will flip the court to majority left for the first time in my adult lifetime. There was a really great interview with Bagenstos on Michigan Radio this morning: http://www.michiganradio.org/post/meet-2018-michigan-supreme-court-candidate-sam-bagenstos Don’t forget to flip that ballot over and vote Bagenstos, Cavanagh, and yes on all three proposals!

For those concerned about electing those who are committed to sensible gun safety legislation, Moms/Students Demand Action (grassroots arm of Everytown for Gun Safety) has a tool at gunsensevoter.org that you can use to see who the organization supports. Not every candidate who has pledged to work for sensible gun safety laws is listed (e.g., Youssef Rabhi is a huge help and supporter but didn’t fill out the questionnaire yet–but he shows up regularly at meetings and events and works very hard to fight bad laws such as arming teachers and equipping schools with metal detectors and other oppressive, anti-education lockdown measures).

At our last meeting we had a Meet the Candidates event. Anthony Morgan, running for City Council in Ward 3, has attended a number of monthly meetings; he was there. Jeff Irwin, a stalwart supporter, was too, as was Rabhi. (Those two had been out in Rochester Hills all day working on behalf of local Dems, were going all over southern Michigan, working their tails off.) Also Ronnie Peterson, Ricky Jefferson, and a number of other impressive candidates were there. Debbie Dingell is a longtime Moms/Everytown supporter, very vocal and essential. Debbie Stabenow has more of a delicate line to walk but has not shied away from calling for commonsense gun safety laws.

Rabhi did point out that if Dems do well on Election Day–and they will because they must!–we should expect to see a fiery lame-duck session in Lansing in which Republicans will try their best to push through very scary gun laws. He urged us to vote, sleep well that night, and then rise and work our butts off for the next two months. (Fortify: vitamin D3, fresh ginger, warm soup!)

Some other choices: Gillian Gainsley for school board; Kristy Cooper for library board; YES on YCS sinking fund; YES on proposals 1, 2, and 3. Anne (with an E) Brown for mayor. (I was also disturbed to learn that Robert Oliver, running for school board, is a Trump supporter.)

Please VOTE! And thank you, Mark, for providing the ballot and voting mojo.

P.S. The $ symbol is so creepy. Weird, too, that two JJs are running against the two Debbies (no to the JJs for sure). Oh, and I know the pot legalization issue is complicated, even among those who badly want to see marijuana decriminalized, but reading that Ted N. says vote no makes it plain: vote yes on 1!

… and provide your address information, you can see a preview of the ballot you’ll receive on election day.

The “$” symbol next to each candidate’s name is a link to their campaign finance information. By clicking on the link, you can see their statements of campaign organization, reports on contributions, etc.

All these people keep telling me to vote for Ann Brown, but I don’t get why… She said at the forum that she always intended to run as a write in when we all know she failed to submit enough signatures to get on the ballot. Lost trust. Next, she has a gaggle of attack dogs on Facebook but claims no responsibility for them. Lost respect. And finally, she wants to keep the peninsular dam regardless of what’s best for Ypsilanti. She claims to be for the environment, but she’s really just for her donors who don’t want to lose any of their fancy riverfront property… Lost support

My concerns are same as concerned citizen relative to Anne Brown. How would anyone file late on purpose. Beth was my first choice but I kept an opened mind…that just sounds like “spin” & her supporters are vicious. My two cents.

I attended both League of Women Voters-sponsored candidate forums at the Riverside Arts Center, and listened carefully to both Anthony Morgan and Desirae Simmons, as well as to all four mayoral candidates.

Mr. Morgan failed to demonstrate that he understand the basics of how local government works (i.e. how millage rates are determined, etc.); and his “proposals” for economic development were frankly outlandish (building a stadium/luxury hotel combo on Water Street; constructing an ice-skating rink on the former Boys & Girls Club site).

On the other hand, while clearly a relative newcomer to politics, Ms. Simmons was much more thoughtful, and had clearly done some homework to prepare for the debate. She had actually read and reflected on recent Planning Commission reports regarding the former Boys & Girls Club site, for example, and understood the importance of balancing the desires of neighborhood residents with the need to promote economic (tax generating) development.

In my mind, there’s no question that Ms. Simmons is the more qualified candidate in Ward 3, and that Anne (with an “E”) Brown is the best choice for Mayor.

To see for yourself, please visit the League of Women Voters of the Ann Arbor Area* website (http://www.lwvannarbor.org/) and scroll down to “Ypsilanti Forums” to see videos of both events, as well as another that included Ypsilanti School Board candidates.

Affordable housing for many is not equal in importance to a tiny park. I, for one, don’t think a tiny park is better for our community than helping to make sure millions of dollars goes to affordable housing for those in our community who need it.

The supporters of prop A, as well as me and many other politically active community members who wish to have a place to hang out with other members of the community, protest, or walk barefoot in the grass can already have that; We just go to one of 159 already-existing parks in Ann Arbor. Those in our community who don’t have a place to live can’t just go to a house.

It’s a bummer that the millions of dollars slated for affordable housing in Ann Arbor from the sale of the library lot isn’t front and center. This is absolutely the choice between millions of dollars for affordable housing or a tiny park.

Because someone asked: DaQuann Harrison was reprimanded by EMU due to sexual assault allegations. No criminal charges. He was and possibly still is trespassed from EMUs campus. He briefly answered a question about this during the forum but he should drop out of the race just like Adam Gainsley did for ward 3.

Yes. The Corporation is planning to build mid rise commercial development on the half of the lot thats outta the flood plain and allow public access on the half in flood zone. I hope that the whole thing is far enough out on the time line, especially with interest rates on the rise, to undergo major revisions.

To answer your question in the first comment on this thread, on the sample ballot you can click on the $ next to candidates’ names to see their Michigan Committee Statement of Organization info and documents filed with the state by that candidates campaign.

I’m indifferent about whether a park goes on the library lot in Ann Arbor but I’m against the deal proposed by the city. Too many concessions. The city should not subsidize the developer’s parking spaces in the underground lot. Find someone who will pay full price or forget it. Ann Arbor should disband their DDA while they’re at it.

UGH. I’m so tired of this conversation. But my two cents on prop A for anyone out there voting in A2. There is $5 million dollars (half the sale price) for affordable housing in the core spaces deal. That’s 4 million 800k more than we have in the current budget. And no there’s no money hidden under the floorboards, like Ypsi, about 30% of our land is untaxable. And the state is squeezing us. And we actually still have pensions etc to pay, plus the existing park services are underfunded (vote yes on the county millage). Among those who oppose a public park on the library lot are the library board (first time in 20 years they took a political stand), the Washtenaw County Housing Alliance and the damned parks dept. The prop A people could not build working relationships with any stakeholders. They have been stubborn and unresponsive to concerns for the 5 years I’ve been trying to extract answers from them. All they do is deride anyone who opposes them or even questions them. Is that the love economy of which they speak?
The underground parking garage may have been a bad deal (Im not convinced) but it’s done. And the city owns it and will continue to own it even if there is a development above. And it is designed so that it’s not in any way suitable for a park now. what can be built is a plaza. We can pay for one that’s 16000 square feet or we can let the developer build and maintain one that’s 12000 square feet and will be run by the same rules as any city park… per the purchase agreement. A faction of the citizenry decided to hold onto their resentment about the parking garage for 10 years. They have in ten years produce neither a design nor a budget nor have they sought the input nor received the approval of any significant stakeholders. They ahve been contrary and difficult and thrown suspicion at anything they dont understand.

It’s not that complicated. We need housing, affordable and otherwise. We need revenue. We don’t need more parks. There is nothing loving about creating a community that is exclusive. And those who have limited growth in Ann Arbor to less than 10% a decade since 1980 all while not replacing lapsed supported housing stock (we’ve lost half of it) are not liberal progressive heroes, even though they justify their single home property value greed with anti-materialist jargon. They are simply old people afraid of change far too willing to place the blame on developers for ann arbor’s exclusivity when it’s all on them.

Love economy.

It’s a simple choice really: privately funded affordable housing, market rate housing and public square or a slightly larger public square (not designed) in the most expensive spot imaginable paid for with tax dollars

Ann Arbor is so stupid as to probably pass prop A. It will be good. Then I’ll be done ever thinking they will take affordable housing seriously or give a shit about anyone but themselves. Oh and they’ll pat themselves on the back for their leftist progressive ideals at the same time. It’s just such a sad and completely avoidable end to what was once a fine, welcoming and exciting city to live in.

I have written extensively about prop A and the housing crisis in a2 that is bleeding over into ypsi on facebook (all public)– and more articulately and with less rancor. I’m just tired of it all at this point and truly disheartened in Ann Arbor citizens. Smart dumb people. Well-meaning but just as invested in their self-affirming fakse narrative as any trumper ever.

I’m upset because people in Ann Arbor keep talking about flowers and hug while systematically excluding the poor, working class, and poc from living in Ann Arbor. I’m upset because I love Ann Arbor and hate that it is being taken over by self-congratulatory hippies who can not acknowledge that they have become the property-owning oppressors. They want a park for themselves as some kind of monument to themselves and their virtueand don’t give a damn who pays for it or who it hurts. Oppression upsets me. The re-segregation of Ann Arbor REALLY upsets me. I expect more of us. Why doesn’t it upset you Flower Grandpa?

Actually, it’s not going to be ok in Ann Arbor. It will be ok for you. It won’t be ok for those who are less privileged. My kids and their friends cant live in Ann Arbor. They’ll be fine. Ann Arbor won’t. It’s half gone already and not because of high rises or fancy restaurants.

I’ve been involved with the prop 1 effort since after the election. That; ot going to save Ann Arbor because Lansing didn’t hurt Ann Arbor and the economy or even the wealth and income disparity in the US didn’t hurt Ann Arbor. What hurt Ann Arbor was itself.

Your disinterest in considering the impact of prop A on those who are not housing secure is noted. I won’t be taking any of your hugs, Old Man. What does the love economy mean anyway? We love ourselves? Fuck everyone else? Don’t worry; be happy?

Once we all have a civic centers commons we will be able to sit together and solve these problems. We need to come together as a community . Coming together to create the park will be our first project, then we’ll tackle the rest.

Flower Grandpa believes solutions to inequity are easy and revenue or even plans are unnecessary. If Parks and people hanging out as a community solved social problems then Ann Arbor would already be close to paradise. It’s not. All the prop A supporters have done in 10 years is to deride and cast aspersions on anyone who is not with their agenda or has any critical questions about it. Even those who offer up alternative parcels on which to erect their monument to their own self-congratulation. Anyone outside the group is bad. That’s quite a way to create community adhesion. What library park supporters have done is create a vacuum of belief and suspicion in which their flawed narrative can persist. Ideology always works this way whether it brands itself Left Wing or Christian Conservative. They’ve been very effective in dividing our city into embittered factions. And no. a park won’t heal us. We don’t even need to be healed. What we need to do is start taking seriously about what we have become as a city, the real causes and workable solutions.

I agree 100% that the library lot as a concrete park is completely asinine. Its based on some retrogrouch political grudge and wastes valuable resources that could be applied much more effectively if those supporting it could just look forward instead of backwards.

But, even though its dumb as fuck, its not worth dividing the community over. Sometimes people you share most of your political identity with insist on shooting themselves in the foot and the only solution is to bandage the wound and move on. Unfortunately for every community in America right now there are bigger fish to fry and so these types of inefficiencies are just going to be part of the collateral damage of the divisive climate that’s gotten so bad it’s even pitting old brain-dead hippies against younger smarter hippies. But I better shut up, I’m not helping….

Gillian Gainsley because she is smart as a whip and has excellent ideas, work ethic, and enthusiasm to get things done. She is also happy to listen to constituents.

Celeste Hawkins because she knows her stuff. She cares about equity and has done research in this space. I also appreciate the voice she brings to board meetings.

Ellen Champaigne because she is real, down to earth, and genuinely cares about the kids. She has great ideas to improve the schools and has proven herself as a thoughtful board member.

I am also voting YES! on the YCS Sinking Fund Millage. As someone who attends (and is on the Ypsi Live video team for) all of the School Board meetings, I am aware of the position the schools are in with regard to technology, building upkeep, and buildings that the community wants torn down. This money will go directly to those causes. Invest in our community’s most important assets! YES for YCS!!!

Also, for mayor… I will be writing in Anne Brown. I believe she is the best candidate for the job. While I was also disappointed that she didn’t get her signatures together to get on the ballot, I don’t believe one mistake means she will be a bad mayor. In this case, the good outweighs the bad. Watch the forums and you will see what I’m talking about!

I would like to put in a plug for PATRICIA J HORNE MCGEE for Library Board

She is a board incumbent who was appointed to her seat when Mike Randall moved out of the district. She was born and raised on the south side of Ypsilanti and has deep ties in that community. She has a professional background in early childhood education and social services (former director of Head Start), and has served on the boards of several local organizations. She is also the only African American candidate for the seat. Her input is invaluable and I ask that you please keep her on our board!

John Brown– calling me a hippie is fightin’ words. JK. I’m fine with all these folks. (most are not fine with me, which I’m also ok with) I think Ann Arbor has some serious reckoning to do about their trajectory in the past 30 years. They are stubbornly resistant to talking about hard choices. They think they can limit growth and accommodate the poor and working class. It hasn’t worked. I believe in building community via positive discourse. Unfortunately the pro prop A people have been sowing division and suspicion of local government for a long time. Meanwhile, their (our) home values grow. I look forward to this being over so we can start looking at a millage or some other means to raise the necessary revenue for affordable and workforce housing, I hope that issue starts to be centered in our public conversations. I’m ok with being a bit of a lightning rod to make that the case. Not all weapons kill.

Or, if the Core project wins there is a big group of prominent Ann Arborites who have been painting themselves as advocates for affordability who will need to deliver. That will be interesting and if they come through a benefit to the city.

And to anyone in Ann Arbor’s ward 1 make sure you vote for Jeff Hayner. A true Democrat ! We can’t let that wild eyed socialist Ryan Hughes get on the council with his crazy ideas about income taxes and redistribution of wealth. He’d probably just cave in and join the Mayors corporation coddling faction.

Jeff Hayner is a lifetime NRA member. He has no plans to withdraw from the NRA cause he likes to shoot his AR15 at their competitions. By now it should be clear to everyone that the NRA were literally in bed with Ruskies to get Agent Orange elected. Hayners a real self centered narcissist for refusing to denounce the NRA. His hobby of plinking targets is more important to him than American Democracy. Sounds like a Trumpie in sheep’s clothing.

A2 Charter requires the repeal of the general millage should an income tax be implemented, which would be cost neutral for residents, while capturing additional revenue from non-residents. And what kinda senile, faux-ass hippie attacks a democratic socialist? A corporatist poser, thats who.

Glen S., I only attended one of the city council candidate forums, but I had a strikingly different sense about the best candidate. I’m grateful to Simmons (to both) for running, learning, connecting to this area, but as I listened, I became more sure that Morgan is the better choice for our ward. Will say more when I have more time.

It’s called projection – when the people who want to gift our cities heart, it’s Central Park to a corporation for a pittance and then accuse those fighting that path of being corporatist, selfish and greedy . Those of us who made Ann Arbor the beacon that it is are being forced out by taxes for bike lanes and cross walks and excluded from the conversation on our cities future. No more. We will have our park and we will control council.

To review; your platform includes supporting the gun lobby, is anti biking and walking, and a tiny concrete park that won’t sustain natural tree roots. Does the rest of A2 realize Ward 1 is going trumpian?

There’s already trees going on the lot. And once we’re done with it even you will appreciate it. The Highline in New York encountered the same sort of opposition and is now one of the major tourist draws for the city. Young people seem so jaded by our Trumpism society that they can’t even imagine how coukd things could be if we come together to pursue the common good.

Bad analogy. The Highline is analogous to the green way, which could be linked to Border to Border trail with the DTE lot at the core. That isolated concrete square over the parking garage is about your factions lust for control, which you referenced.

And you’re willing to align with an unapologetic NRA supporter to get it. Not a good look. Most of A2 think Hayner is a crackpot, who had to purge his social media because it was so unhinged.

JH, I could care less about the park in Ann Arbor, lived there for a couple years in the 80’s. Always thought it was a pretensions boring place. Once Joe’s Star Lounge closed there really was not much reason to go there. I do most of my business there now, still a pretension boring place.

In your argument against the park you state, ” I’m upset because people in Ann Arbor keep talking about flowers and hug while systematically excluding the poor, working class, and poc from living in Ann Arbor.” No doubt the city is not for the poor or the working class, median household income over twice of Ypsilanti’s. But as far as poc; the 2010 census indicates that poc as a percentage of the population has never been as high as now. Nearly 30% of the population is non-white. 14% Asian, 8% Black and 4% Hispanic.

In the 80’s it was the Belcher Republicans redeveloping downtown to the detriment of the black community. The bantu-stan co-ops created around the city allowed reasonable and affordable housing but created a pretty white inner core of the city. Since then the Republican and Democrats seem to have pretty much amalgamated.

Of course Ypsilanti is just over 60% white and 30% Black. We also have a substantial mixed population.

I didn’t say the project was like the Highline. I said like the Highline it faced opposition and naysayers saying it wouldn’t work. I love all the border to border stuff etc. we’ll see what happens with that. We just want to be heard, and in order to do that we had to resort to an expensive and time consuming petition process. Thank God for participatory democracy. You should come down and celebrate with us at a Jerusalem Gardens Nov. 6th. A local business that knows what our park will bring to the area as opposed to that monolith!

Vote yes on Prop A!
Jeff Hayner for ward 1!

Wobblie- your wrong, as usual. One of the big supporters of this project is a local PR person for the unions – that I’m sure would love to build this monstrosity downtown. Do you think all those union guys voted for Clinton or Trump? There’s a lot of good people in Ann Arbor.

Wobblie– Ann Arbor has lost 15% of its historic Black population per decade since 1970. What remains has been pushed out to the fringes. While I’m thrilled that there are more Asian and Hispanic residents, it matters who we exclude, especially if their families had lived in this city since the Northern migrations. I would like Ann Arbor to become more diverse and certainly be much better at serving those populations. Who wouldn’t?

Wobblie– Your repeated insistence that race does not matter re inequity, and that only class matters, has been noted. We very very much disagree. And frankly, almost every measurable outcome statistic re well being and economic mobility disagree as well.

If economics is the ONLY issue that needs to be addressed, then why is there so much disparity of outcome by race? Why is it so many problems are allowed fester in Black communities for decades but suddenly become actionable when they impact white people? Your denial of the need to address racial and gender bias in this country is truly corrupt.

I was wondering if you can give examples of problems addressed amongst poor white members of the Ann Arbor community, but are simultaneously (or previously) ignored amongst poor black members of the Ann Arbor community?

@Frosted Flakes
– Tax protection in historic neighborhoods. (Old west side used to be more working class, granted historic district status in part to protect from impacts of taxes). Water Hill requested same protections and was literally mocked in paper for it (Water Hill used to be black neighborhood).
– Development protection for white neighborhoods in Ann Arbor (specifically the Old West Side, Burns Park, etc). Yes there are some white neighborhoods seeing development now, no, that doesn’t mean that I’m wrong on this. See above, black neighborhoods asked for same protections afforded some white ones, they were actually mocked for it.
– Getting shot for holding a knife and being 50 feet away
– Prosecution for possession of drugs (white kids don’t get prosecuted for drug crimes (at least I didn’t nor did anyone I know), black kids do)
– Getting lengthy school suspensions for fighting while black, detention for fighting while white. (again, my experience here, you mileage my vary)
– Environmental protections for people freaking out in Scio township, decades of dealing with illegal dumps in Ypsi Township. Township and state takes no lead in dealing with its 30 years too late (current admin is fine for the most part there) This does affect some of the lower income white areas in Scio, admittedly most are bought out now.
– Forcing black kids into special education programs and allowing teachers to select all white classes (wife is a former teacher, they were doing this in Ann Arbor as of 5 years ago)

I came up with this list in a couple minutes. I’m sure some other people could think of some stuff.

JH, Never said Racism, and Sexism were not problems. In fact Race has been central to the American experience. The worst thing that “progressive/liberal” politics ever did though was abandon class and fixate on identity politics. The decision to eliminate income as one of the elements in both the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and the Equal Employment Opportunity Act of 1972 has given nothing but fuel to the racist ever since.

If a rising economic tide does not lift all boats then it will by default create resentments. The Democratic Party has been paying that price for twenty plus years now. It is liberals who purposefully (like yourself) misrepresent what critics have said who are creating the conditions for Trumpers. In your original post you said “poc” if you had been specific and said what you really meant ie. “blacks”, I would not have taken exception to your comments. But it is lack of specificity and obfuscation that have seem to be your primary tools on this site.

According to the US census in 1970 “Blacks or African Americans” made up 6.7% of Ann Arbor’s population. That was out of a total population of about 100,000. In 1990 they had grown to 9% of the population. The total population then was 109,000. In the 2010 census they account for 7.7 %. of a population of 114,000. Do the math. In real terms the “Black or African American” population has fallen 11% since 1990 (approx. 9800 in 1990, 8800 in 2010). It remains nearly 25% larger today than in 1970. The “Black or African American” population according to the US census is just over 12% of the population.

Affirmative Action (perhaps a guaranteed basic income-1972 Democratic Platform called for just that) based on income would not only help blacks and Latinos, but also substantial numbers of whites. A Politics that is All Inclusive, rather than the narrow identity politics of today’s Democratic Party would go along way towards eliminating the racist threat from the right.

I’ve never met him. But I’ve been impressed by his vigorous involvement in local politics and passionate outburst at council meeting over the years. Ryan Hughes on the other hand has all these ideas for changing things, I’m skeptical. Other than not having a vibrant park downtown and rents being a little too high, Ann Arbor is pretty great. And with Hayner on council the new majority will solve the affordability problem. We don’t need any more luxury skyscrapers for The retirees from out of state.

Election Day is coming fast and Sam Bagenstos is running for Michigan Supreme Court. The Free Press has called him the, “most qualified candidate for this position in recent history”. The ballot won’t say he’s a dem, but Sam Bagenstos is nominated by the Democratic party – and he’s running against two Snyder-appointed Justices. Democrats can retake the MI Supreme Court this year – can we count on your support?

Hayner implicitly supports rampant gun violence and Russian subversion of American Democracy by maintaining his lifetime membership in NRA.

From MLive:
“Jeff Hayner, faces criticism for being a lifetime National Rifle Association member and sending tweets on topics such as gun control and abortion — as well as one making reference to penis size — that have left some offended and questioning his politics.”

Actual tweet:
“We demand the right to abortions! Also, ban guns before any more of our precious children are killed! See how stupid that sounds? ‘Leftists’, go right ahead & have all the abortions you want, you’re doing the world a favor. #Overpopulation #WaterPlanet”

The Old West Side became a historic district in 1972, right? Are you saying they later incorporated the homes of poor white people but rejected the incorporation of the home of poor black people into the district? You do get tax breaks for having a historic home but it many ways it is more expensive to live in a historic district, depending on the type of home and the condition of the home, right?

From Wikipedia on Poverty in the US, In June 2016, the IMF warned the United States that its high poverty rate needs to be tackled urgently by raising the minimum wage and offering paid maternity leave to women to encourage them to enter the labor force.[24] In December 2017, the United Nations special rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, Philip Alston, undertook a two-week investigation on the effects of systemic poverty in the United States, and sharply condemned “private wealth and public squalor”.[25] Alston’s report was issued in May 2018 and highlights that 40 million people live in poverty and over five million live “in ‘Third World’ conditions.”[26]
In 2009 the number of people who were in poverty was approaching 1960s levels that led to the national War on Poverty.[10] In 2011 extreme poverty in the United States, meaning households living on less than $2 per day before government benefits, was double 1996 levels at 1.5 million households, including 2.8 million children.[11] In 2012 the percentage of seniors living in poverty was 14% while 18% of children were.[12] The addition of Social Security benefits contributed more to reduce poverty than any other factor.[13]
“In 2011, child poverty reached record high levels, with 16.7 million children living in food insecure households, about 35% more than 2007 levels.[17] A 2013 UNICEF report ranked the U.S. as having the second highest relative child poverty rates in the developed world.[18] According to a 2016 study by the Urban Institute, teenagers in low income communities are often forced to join gangs, save school lunches, sell drugs or exchange sexual favors because they cannot afford food.[19]

The Core project is our International Village! We spent 15 million on footings for a building and we’re only charging them 10 million to buy the lot. It’s a travesty and a scandal. We need a project on that site for the people! Power to the people, all of us!

The single biggest determinate of poverty is only one income provider in the household. Among single parent (male or female) families: 26.6% lived in poverty. EOS and like minded folks (including many Democrat’s) with there support of mass incarceration have done more than anything else (besides an economy that periodically creates mass unemployment) to fuel the rising poverty rates in this country.

Thanks. We finally have some common ground. The single biggest factor that produces poverty is single parent homes. Far more people don’t delay parenthood until they are married and over 21 than who are affected by incarceration. Most of those incarcerated are single men.

Prager U now that is a reliable source. EOS lacks the creativity to “make things up” he has to rely upon a You Tube video channel that inflates its reach through continuous advertising. Every time there add appears before, during, or after the video you went to watch, counts as a hit on their web sight. Deception and lies are at the core of Prager U. EOS, any idea where Prager U generated the statistics ?

I think there is room to object to how the findings are phrased and what the findings imply;but the study has value; and it is not based on lies; and EOS is not making stuff up; but Wobblie is making up that EOS is just making stuff up.

I check this blog sporadically, when I am looking for local news. This thread was excellent until about halfway through–intelligent, articulate, adding lots of resources (thank you to Glen S. for giving the links to the filmed candidate forums in Ypsi. Maybe I will have time to view them….).

I don’t know any of the candidates or the “in” groups in Ypsi who seem to like to fight each other (no infighting is more vicious than local politics, except maybe tenured academics).

I am in the Third Ward, and had initially decided in the primary based on what information I could find I would vote for Gainsley, because he seemed much more competent, articulate and clear thinking than Morgan. Obviously that changed when somebody leaked Gainsley’s past rape conviction to the A2 “News”. Now I’m leaning toward Simmons–I like spunk and youth and I don’t think my initial assessment of Morgan was wrong. What ever happened to Brian Robb anyway? He sometimes made some good points, though he was very inconsistent.

“Mayor” in Ypsi often seems largely ceremonial–effectively an At-Large council member. The city manager does the daily work of running things? I question Bashert’s judgment- she was Edmond’s campaign manager I believe. Whatever happened to all the legal issues around the China trip?

Also Bashert’s choice of profession–one would have to be brain dead not to notice the deleterious impact of the Ypsilanti Ford factory closing on Ypsilanti’s working class, especially the black community on the South side.

Today the South side is full of retirees from that factory, who had decent incomes, bought houses, have pensions and retiree health insurance. Their kids, however, have no such options because Toyota has not deigned to place any blue collar jobs in Michigan. (obviously it is not Bashert’s fault the US let the Japanese have free rein to sell in our auto markets, while letting the Japanese keep their auto market closed to US vehicles). Wonder if she has any pull at Toyota–if she could get us a nice parts distribution warehouse on Water Street–to pay property taxes and provide a couple hundred decent jobs for local people who do not have PhDs, now that would be worth supporting!

Anne Brown I also don’t know–concerned about the missing the ballot thing (competence?). I’m not on facebook so I don’t know if her supporters are ruthless, though as I said above, local politics always seem to be that way, in every time and place I’ve ever lived. I thought David Rutledge was effective as a state legislator–who she worked for and who has endorsed her, I think.

On the more macro questions the second part of this thread veered into, I love the description from Jean Henry: ”…truly disheartened in Ann Arbor citizens. Smart dumb people. Well-meaning but just as invested in their self-affirming fakse narrative as any trumper ever.”

Truer words were never spoken! Unfortunately this are a national phenomenon, pretty much everyone I know fits that description! And they have no clue what neo-liberalism even is…they just pull the “D” lever and think everything is groovy (which it is for them in their personal bubble, until Trump got elected). And yes, it is profoundly frustrating……keep doing the same (neo-liberal) thing, keep getting the same result…..

Race, Class and Gender are not mutually exclusive–causation cuts across the three. I will throw a new study of the 2016 election up here which I just ran into this morning, so have not closely studied. It, however, appears to delve deeper into these intersections of causality.

@FF
For existing owners (at the time), you would have gotten large tax writeoffs for any improvements to your home (on your state taxes, some locals have writeoffs too). Adding a new roof, don’t pay state taxes for 5 years type of deduction. Thankfully some of those deductions were limited a few years ago.

The context it was passed in though was that black people were moving into the new apartment buildings being constructed in the OWS. People were afraid that having black neighbors would damage their property values, so they passed rules so that new construction would be effectively illegal (both in the formal historic district and anti-development zoning adjacent to it). The black neighborhood also wanted protection from development, doubly so as the OWS banned it. But they never got that protection so development leapfrogged to the area of least resistance.

To be clear, I don’ think that Water Hill should have been a historic district. My observation is that established white neighborhoods often ban new construction, and that they shouldn’t be given that option. All zoning and land use regulation other than some level of inspection/safety rules should be banned, then the market can sort it out.

I also don’t think all anti-development people (then and now) are racist, I just think that they are trying to benefit themselves. When markets benefit incumbents rather than new entrants the results are often in favor of old white people.

@FF
Also, it would have been multiple districts, not just one large one. But many of the protections exist in the zoning ordinance, not due to historic status. So the vast majority of Ann Arbor is legally required to be single family housing, intensifying land use (where the market wants it) is only legal in tiny fractions of the city’s land area.

This is a problem in lots of places, Ypsi included. There just isn’t the market demand in Ypsi to redevelop at greater intensity

Yeah – that’s why we support Jeff Hayner. We’re not racist- we’re just trying to stay in our houses and not be pushed out by new taxes for climate change officers, art projects and bike lanes. Have a little empathy. And we need to get the roads fixed, needing car repairs because of the Lake Michigan sized potholes is another tax. Everybody is trying to benefit themselves, aren’t they?

Veryfirst, thanks for sharing. My take away from your link,
We also suspect that fundamental economic trends (economic,globalization, technological advances) may have been even more important than social trends (increased ethnic diversity, advances by women and minorities) in fueling increased social resentments –particularly if something like Arendt’s “alliance of mob and capital” takes shape, wherein wealthy elites deliberately inflame (even create) and channel economic distress into social resentments. Our analysis of Trump’s scapegoating hints at this.

@verifyfirst
LOL, her profession as a salesperson? Hey Beth, make a quick call to Tokyo to see what they can set us up with on Water Street. Also, how does it have anything to do with Ford’s choice to close a outdated facility that was struggling?

Also, Toyota makes most of their cars in the United States and they do employ large numbers of people at their 3 R and D locations here (obviously white collar jobs here). They have suppliers in the region though.

The Japanese auto market isn’t even closed to the US. Its just that US automakers don’t want to sell pint sized cars in a half pint market where people don’t drive much. There’s just no money to be made there. Instead they just ramp up investment in foreign automakers (Ford had a sizeable Mazda investment for a long time) and make money that way. The US is happy to try to sell in China though, where the market is much more strict, but so much larger than getting a 10% share would make you a massive company.

Gainsley’s record wasn’t “leaked”, it was public record. He should have known better than to be a white guy in 2018 thinking that the public would let a little thing like that slide by. For an election, that’s a fair thing to hold over someone. It sucks that it limits his job options and whatnot, and maybe some of that stuff isn’t fair, but that’s private life not public office.

Gramps,
If you want potholes fixed and more affordability then why do you want to keep the library lot off the tax roles? We can’t afford to fix the roads and you want to add another 0.24 acres of concrete that we’ll have to maintain? Your argument makes no fiscal sense. But feel free to flip back to the “love” spiel. It’s like you’re saying anything you think will appeal to anyone but we all know it all can’t be true. Again, trumpian.

Mr. Brown, do really think other parcels aren’t going to be developed into high rises that will generate revenue? Is the library lot the last parcel in the whole city to develop? Wake up! It is the last parcel that the city owns in the center of the city. You thought Trump was an upset, just wait until Prop A passes.

Ypsi Teacher weighing in to say please vote for Gillian! And it’d be great if you would vote YES on the YCS sinking fund. We really could use the $ for repairs and improvements to our schools. It is not used to pay teachers’ salaries (although I will take this opportunity to mention that we are the lowest paid teachers in the county, on average). It is used to help our kiddos.

I would love for all the “woke folks” and even the not-woke folks to come and spend a day at school with me. I’m fun and you would see some amazing kids who are persevering and thriving under some very tough home life circumstances. They amaze me.

Hippie Grandpa–The library lot is NOT the last parcel of land the city owns in city center. There are the Kline’s lot and the area around city hall– which are both better candidates for a park, structurally and situationally.

Grandpa– If you don’t want higher property taxes, the worst thing you could possibly do is vote for prop A which not only would sacrifice us $2 million a year in added property tax revenue and the sales price ($10 million) but saddle property owners with an unfunded mandate for a park/civic center and all attendant maintenance in perpetuity.

Gramps again: Re the $15 million spent on footings. That’s inaccurate as well. $10 million of that went to infrastructure improvements in the public right of way (yep that’s roads etc) $5 million was the cost for the footings to make the parcel structurally sound to support a multistory building.

At least you didn’t speak as though we were giving away the parking garage underneath like many prop A proponents. You get credit for being less grossly inaccurate than your comrades.

And again, it doesn’t really matter if the sales price to Core is fair because Prop A would prevent any sale to anyone else for 100 years without amending the city charter again. There won’t be a better deal. This is a simple choice: Are parks more important to Ann Arbor than affordable housing? If we look at our history that’s how we have rolled. This proposal makes the choice stark. Do we have a park crisis or a housing crisis? Is our city character determined by the diversity of our people or the appearance of our buildings and parks?

If Prop A passes I’ holding supporters accountable not only to creating and funding something the city actually uses, but finding ways to build affordable housing downtown as well. We have been assured you care about the issue and dont oppose development and that there’s plenty of money for all these projects without raising taxes, so I look forward to seeing you put as much energy into realizing affordable housing as you have to this tiny little ‘civic center’

Gramps– There is nothing inherently wrong about corporate developers. They build the housing we need. Please remember that homeowners are also private property owners. Those that resist growth are building their own wealth at the cost of others, especially the poor and working class and young. Wave your anti-corporate shield in front of your own self-interest and your wealth and housing hoarding all you want. You are also part of this system. You also have a vested financial interest. And so it goes.

If Prop A wins we will transform Ann Arbor. That will include working on affordability.

If Prop A loses all the opponents who have been using poor people and affordability as a pawn to get their high rise developments built will also be on the hook for delivering tangible results. It should be easy since so many of you are experts in architecture,urban planning, social work and business. What kind of timeline should we give each other for showing results?

Who will Ryan Hughes be able to work with on council? Taylor and his corporate, professional , country club crowd? Eaton and Lumm and their salt of the earth independent thinking democratic colleagues? He would be all by himself. Hayner cements a block to keep Taylor in check. That’s more important than your appreciation for somebodies eyes!

“Salt of the earth”. OMG you are hilarious. Lum was a Republican until that label became unelectable. You just repeated that it’s all about this grudge against Taylor. You couldn’t care less about the 1st Ward representation. Democratic party won’t even endorse NRA Hayner.

“According to the Ann Arbor Housing Commission, every dollar from the city could be leveraged to get $25 more in outside funding such as low-income housing tax credits, so $5 million could become $125 million and pay for up to 500 new units of affordable housing.”

That’s a lot of affordable housing prop A would say goodbye to for the sake of retaining public ownership and public fiscal responsibility for a pocket park.

Ann Arbor voters, I suggest you read this article. Hayner wants the government to focus on services not affordability. Hughes is a candidate who puts affordability front and center. His voice is needed. Hayner is an embittered, divisive conspiracy theorist seeing collusion everywhere in government, like Gramps here. Hughes would be mediating presence. A truly independent vote not part of any block.
If you don’t live in ward 1, talk to people who do. This one is important.

Generally speaking, I have the most problem knowing who to vote for in the judicial races, as I don’t follow the Michigan courts too closely. I knew, in this instance, that I should vote for Bagenstos and Cavanagh to oust the Republican incumbents on the Michigan Supreme Court, but, outside of that, I didn’t know who to support. Thankfully, though, I’ve got a friend who has a pretty good sense of such things, and this person offered the following take on the District Court race, which I was particularly puzzled by, given that both candidates seemed to be Republicans.

“As you note, both are Republicans. Bourque by admission, and Simpson by appointment. (He was appointed by Engler). The Dems endorsed Simpson, I believe because he is black and somewhat sympathetic to problems of the poor. Having said that, he has acted unethically, was mean in his divorce, and can be a bully on the bench. Bourque has less of a personality disorder, but there is nothing in his work life or evidence of social activism that would be predictive of a judge that would be sympathetic to tenants, collection issues etc. I would hold my nose very tightly and vote for Simpson.”

Alan Haber’s self aggrandizing park(ing lot) will be Ann Arbor’s water street. For decades we will remember Haber as the old guy whose ego gave us an expensive useless parking lot to squabble over in the city charter.

Alan Haber has done some truly great things locally and nationally. It’s unfortunate he decided to stake his legacy on this boondoggle. It’s super unfortunate he chose to link arms with Ann Arbor’s most conservative anti-tax citizens to do so. But it will not be his legacy. No one is going to look at that surface parking lot (which is what we’ll get) and call it a legacy. I’m just dreading hearing him blame the DDA for the next 20 years when nothing great happens there. Passing prop A may make him at least happy for a while, but I expect he’ll be returning to cranky old man waving fist at city meetings in short order.

I don’t think Alan would waste his time here. I’m sure He’s busy downtown rallying the troops and getting out the vote. It’s so telling that you can’t even imagine that his legacy might be a wonderful park enjoyed by everyone, especially the residents of the affordable housing that will get built on the Y lot. But carry on with your nay saying and scoffing. Maybe lighten up a bit though on the slandering of Mr. Hayner. I just read he’ll be having his victory party at the Necto. If you’re old enough to drink come on down and I’ll buy you one.

He’s not staking his legacy on this. If prop A passes, the anti folks will remember it as a mistake that cost a wealthy city some money. If prop A fails, the pro folks will remember it as a mistake that cost a park filled city a park. There is a bit of a tempest in a teapot about this. The important part is that the pro and anti development folks found something to fight about, so lots of signalling around this one fight. This is a long game, so the townies and economic development folks will find something else to fight about soon.

Alan Haber is kind of a minor factor in this fight itself. He’s been a little loopy for a while, has treated his opponents on minor issues kinda terrible for a while. Let his home go to seed for a while. People are more impressed by the fact of him, and let some of his eccentricities go un-mentioned. Which is okay, Ann Arbor needs to get its weird back instead of the new generic hotel lobby feel that its had for about 20 years.

Anonimal— the Ann Arbor affordable housing trust fund balance is currently zero. The $5 million matters. We need that money (which could be leveraged to $125 million via stare and federal grants) to actually build a substantive affordable and mixed use building on other public land downtown. That makes the case for a millage to actually really tackle the problem.

So you see there’s a cavalcade effect beyond prop A. Voting for it is truly a vote for the status quo. And that will bring with it more hotel lobby aesthetics because that’s a visionless way to appeal cheaply to money. That whole sanitized aesthetic is about making rich people feel safe from any disruption. And the only thing that can disrupt it is a diversity of people of all incomes living and working alongside the wealthy, who we will never ever be able to keep out.

I don’t give a shit about that lot. Or tall buindings. This vote is a referendum on prioritizing affordable housing . Period.

Ps Gramps— Alan has posted here in the past under his own name. He appears to have abundant time.

Beth Bashert has proven that she is unethical and uncouth. Its so sad and pathetic! :-(

Anne has what it takes to make Ypsi a safe and affordable place for all. And she has a really good chance of winning, even as a write in candidate! She has already served on City Council not long ago. She cares about renters rights and affordable housing. Anne has lived in ypsi for 30 years and is an extremely kind and compassionate leader. Make sure you spell her name right – don’t forget the E at the end of AnnE!

I keep trying not to be glum that a good stalwart Democrat, Anne “with an E” Brown, whom I support for mayor, has been co-opted by the anti-Beth forces, sullying what could be a race based on issues, experience, abilities. (“AnybodyButBeth” is hardly a ringing endorsement.) Here’s hoping we overcome the damaging politics of grievance in our good little town and across the country. Tuesday, here we come!

Momentum is on our side, love for a downtown park is growing by the day. People are coming out expressing their desire for a commons in the city center instead of more corporate Trump luxury developments. Everyone said it was impossible but we can already almost feel the grass under our feet. It coukd be a green wave sweeping Ann Arbor as the Blue wAve sweeps the country.

I’m Gordon Kangas, one of the candidates for the Ypsilanti District Library Board of Trustees. I’m sorry that some of the above commenters have misgivings about me, but perhaps I can clear things up.

I’m not running for the Board as a future platform; I have no future plans. I’m running because I think the library does a tremendous amount of good for people, particularly low-income people. And the resources it offers present fewer barriers than just about any other public benefit. I think that if you care about an institution, you should be willing to put in the time to preserve it. So I stepped up at a time when it looked like there wouldn’t be enough candidates to fill the slate. Happily, there are now more than enough candidates; a great thing for Ypsilanti and Superior Township.

I’m not endorsed by a party because I didn’t ask any party to endorse me. It’s a non-partisan race and I think anyone, from any party, could help make good decisions about library governance. Ideally, residents should feel like all their board members are on their side.

I don’t think I can give any further insights on my hair, though. I combed it that day, and I have no regrets. :)

Victories across the board. I invite you all to join me next spring in our wonderful new park in the center of Ann Arbor! They said we were foolish, naive, greedy, insensitive, but the good people of Ann Arbor saw through their conspiracy of lies and condescension and handed us control of the cities center. We will transform it. We will rip up the pavement and put down compost to grow a beautiful paradise. All people from everywhere will be welcome to come sit on the grass or a bench and enjoy the beauty . It is a dream deferred finally coming to fruition. The true spirit of Ann Arbor shall shine forth for all to see.

Thanks to everyone for voting yes on Prop A. We stopped the high rise and it’s deluxe apartments in the sky!

And thanks to everyone for stopping the socialist takeover by electing Jeff Hayner to ward 1! He has a lot of ideas. Really big ideas. And then more ideas!

Flower grandpa– The DDA has finally engaged in developing and funding affordable housing, so now Eaton is going to dismantle them to fund your damned park. Brilliant. And of course. He has never supported substantial affordable housing funding or devlopment before, why start now. Oh, I know he’s a labor lawyer and so MUST be liberal even though he runs on reducing the size government, lower taxes, more police, better homeowners services and slowing Ann Arbor’s development. He’s been given a pass for too long. We need to form a prgressive caucus in A2 to override his control of the city Democratic apparatus.